It’s a relief that Wilmington voters won’t be asked to return to the polls to settle a single contest for the City Council.

Fourth-place finisher Pat Delair’s decision against demanding a runoff
with Earl Sheridan was smart politics for her and a favor to the city,
which won’t have to spend $50,000 for the exercise, and to the voters,
who wouldn’t have gotten their money’s worth.

After all, Dr. Sheridan’s margin wasn’t just a few votes, but 1,363.
His deep roots in Wilmington and his work in a wide variety of civic
organizations made him a promising candidate for the council and the
likely victor in a runoff.

To be sure, the outcome wouldn’t have been a sure thing. Turnout almost
certainly would have been pathetic, and the outcome would have
reflected nothing more than the preferences of a handful of residents
who cared enough to vote.

It’s time to scrap the primary runoff, a vestige of the days when the
Democratic Party dominated North Carolina politics and white supremacy
was its goal.

There are other ways to make sure that the winners in a multi-candidate
field represent the broad electorate. Probably the most sensible is the
“instant runoff.”

Voters rank candidates in order of preference. If there’s no definitive
result with the first-place choices counted, the lower-ranking choices
are included.

It seems to be working in some other communities around the country, and there’s talk of trying it in statewide elections.Wilmington’s latest election is another reminder that what worked in great-granddaddy’s day doesn’t work in ours.